Macarons, Stupid Pralines, and Raw Fish

If you read my earlier post you’ll know I took a quick jaunt around Europe earlier this summer and went to London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. I’m stating my top 3 favorite and 2 least favorite things about each city and yet I do believe these blog posts are turning out longer than the trip itself!

Paris: ❤ ❤ ❤

+1. It felt like home: An overwhelming wave of nostalgia hit me as our bus took us from the train station to our dinner in the center of Paris. This was the city where I’d shared some of my fondest memories with my family and even adventured by myself as a young teenager. I didn’t feel like a tourist this time around. I felt like I was coming home ❤

It’s the obligatory picture every time you go

+2. Macarons: If you have never had a macaroon, (macaron in French) consider yourself a deprived individual and order yourself a box straight away. I hunted down Laduree, the most famous macaron chain in Paris and got a box of them with my family. Worth every centine 😉

Quite possible the most famous macaron vendor in ParisAnd these are the delightfully delicious aforementioned sweets ❤

+3. Cinnamon chocolate: I have been dying the last 2 years, deprived of this delicacy I have only every been able to find in France. If you’ve every added cinnamon to your hot chocolate in the winter you have tasted just a fraction of the bliss of what true cinnamon chocolate gives you. If you find a supplier of cinnamon chocolate who ships to the states, please let me know! Thankfully, the chocolate store under the Louvre will serve as my chocolate drug dealer in the upcoming year.

-1. The Lock Bridge: Two years ago it was one of my favorite things about Paris. It’s been my iPhone’s home screen for that long as well. So you can imagine that I was a little distressed to see my favorite bridge go from this:

June 2012

To this:

June 2014

Shocking huh? They’ve started locking chains onto the bridge so that even MORE locks can go on!

-2. Tourists: I know I know. Technically I was a tourist, but when I’m in France I want to speak French not English! The tourism industry makes it very difficult to speak French since almost everyone there speaks English.

Brussels:

+1. Chocolate: Not as good as French cinnamon chocolate, but when you have entire streets dedicated to chocolate stores who make everything from dark chocolate to basil honey chocolate you know you’re in heaven!

+2. Waffles: Belgian Waffles.

No words necessary

If that didn’t convince you:

+3. They speak French! Definitely a plus that they speak my favorite language. Especially handy when you need to yell at your waiter for not telling you that it would take an hour and a half to prepare lunch. Ahh Belgians.

-1. Belgian Pralines: I have the unfortunate malady of being allergic to nuts. So whenever I walk into a chocolate shop I make sure to ask (in 2 different languages) if the chocolate I wish to buy has nuts. (Side story: I almost didn’t get into Rice because of an incident that occurred right before my interview!) I was quite distraught in this one chocolate store because everything was labelled as “Praline.” Now I’ve never eaten a praline for obvious reasons, but I’ve always labelled them in my mind as “chocolate things with nuts.” I told this to the shopkeeper, in French, who assured me that Belgian pralines did not have nuts.

So I bought a TON of chocolate from that store.

Unfortunately as I learned by about my 3rd piece, is that sure enough Belgian pralines do not contain nuts, but that Belgium also likes to make normal pralines as well. So I had a bag full of “Belgian” pralines and “nutty” pralines and no way of knowing which was which unless I wanted to put myself in the hospital.

“Good” Praline“Bad” Praline

I feel like this kid:

Blame Tumblr

I think I’ll stick to my French chocolate…

-2. Time: We spent a morning there. Maybe 10 am to 12:30? I know Brussels isn’t famous for much, but I wish I could have toured the European Parliament!

Amsterdam:

+1. Raw Fish: I ate raw fish. I ATE RAW FISH AND I LIKED IT.

Anyways… It was raw herring to be exact. It was delicious.

Tastes better than it looks I promise!

+2. Dutch Country Life: Endless windmills and green rolling hills, tulips of all sorts and life on the waterfront. Plus their outfits were super colorful!

When my dad came to Amsterdam in 1970 he and his family took a family portrait at one of those “dress-up” places:

Approximately taken in 1970

So of course we had to take one all together too!

2014: 44 years later!

+3. Environmentally Friendly: Don’t have to worry about pollution here, you just have to worry about being run down by the thousands upon thousands of bicyclists.

So many bikes!

-1. Amsterdam itself: Unfortunately as we were travelling with a group of 14 year olds, the tour guides thought it wise to find a hotel far outside the city limits to make it impossible for anyone to sneak out and sample some of Amsterdam’s more explicit activities. So I didn’t actually see much of the city. Which is even more unfortunate because they have a museum full of Vermeer’s! Girl with a Pearl Earring anyone??

They made a movie based off of this painting! AKA I missed seeing a movie star in real life

-2. Dutch Toilets:

You walk into the bathroom (that you had to pay half a euro for because of course there’s free healthcare in Europe, but no free loos) and you see that all of the stall doors are made of glass. Not frosty glass oh no, the completely clear glassy glass.